


Perfect equilibrium

by A_G



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual non-canon, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Mind Control, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-06-10 09:30:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15288579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_G/pseuds/A_G
Summary: These are the first days of what will soon become the Galactic Empire. The future is ever uncertain. The hope to restore the balance is all but gone and Obi-Wan no longer believes in prophecies. But life has a few more surprises in store for him. Some of them making him question everything he was taught to believe.





	1. changes

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to Miss_Marchioness for beta-ing.

What day was it? How long has he been lying down? What was he supposed to do today? Thoughts danced without coherence, a part of him was begging to get a grip. Instead he let them spin, letting go of the control he was so used to exercising over his mind. Only now when all that distracted him, all that he considered important was gone, morphed, changed beyond recognition and there was nothing to do, only now did he start to suspect it was all just an elaborate lie. He was never in control of his mind, truthfully he hardly knew it. He only knew what it was supposed to be - calm, measured, a sharp tool in the service of the Light. Light? A ridiculous concept, how obvious it was now. Too late. Was Anakin right to question this after all? Even for selfish motives? Why did he not reach out to him? Anakin.

His head has gone dizzy again. It did every time he thought of him, even in passing. Guilt, shame, rage, then finally pity. He stopped trying to keep his emotions form overpowering him. Sometimes he simply broke down and shouted into the void until his throat hurt. That was a blessing. More often he could not let it out, it just clouded around his head hike a poisonous gas; he couldn’t think, focus, act. He just sat there on his small makeshift bed in emotional agony. He thought of ending it more times than he could count. It has been five months now. It could have been yesterday. Time did not run on Tatooine in the same way he was used to. Every day was the same, the same scorching twin suns rising slowly, the same wind blowing hot masses of air over sand dunes in the afternoon, then the night, cold and bitter. He worked on a broken down moisture farm. Occasionally he scavenged, covering his head and face in off-white rags, jumping on a half broken speeder he had stolen (to think he had once thought theft beneath him), he looked for small shipwrecks covered in sand. He scanned them methodically for the things other scavengers left due to ignorance of their worth. Once a week he sold whatever he found to a sketchy humanoid parts dealer in Mos Eisley. What a wretched, foul smelling dumpster of a place. But weapon parts fetched a decent price there. He did not care what they were repurposed for. 

He did not fear dying here. He was not afraid that Anakin would track him down and kill him for what he did to him. That would almost be a relief. He hacked his parts dealer’s holo-link on a regular basis and knew he was a hunted man. He also knew Anakin was otherwise occupied. This thought also made him sick, filling him with poisonous mind-fog. No, what he was really terrified of was his still miraculously intact mental bond with his padawan. He was scared to touch it and discover what his friend had become. What he was becoming, all the while he was not able to do anything. This gradual decent that would eradicate his former self, the man he had loved once. The man whose memory he still loved. If he touched their bond it would give him hope, hope that he could reach him, change something. And then to find out the truth; that the Anakin he loves is fully gone ... he would finally lose what little will he has to live. He cannot afford to risk it while Luke was still so young. He cared for the boy the moment he saw the all too familiar halo of energy radiate from this small being. He must wait before he attempts this sort of suicide. Perhaps forever.


	2. In motion

Sentient life in most cases is a very short affair and this particular life, belonging to the senior technician at the second Eastern station port, central sector 21 on Taris, was rapidly running down its timer. Of that, he was not yet aware. His port served primarily as the docking station for the off planet cargo supply of the station's basic life-supporting systems. Atomic batteries that powered the city, compressed waste containers, recycled on several neighbouring moons, related maintenance machinery and stacks of equipment from the local terra-forming research facility. It was a big station on the outskirts or the capital megapolis jointly funded by the galactic senate and the InterGalactic bank. The last couple of days he saw no new off world shipments or missions from them. He was guessing it was all to do with the news. The senate was changing hands and no one knew what the new hot shots wanted from this part of the star system. They were bound to find out soon enough. 

With these thoughts, he turned back to head up the metal stairs leading up from the main hanger to control room to check on who was due to dock today and what fixes they were requesting. He was intercepted before he could reach the control room by shouting and running from the other side of the bay. Someone in a loose grey lab coat was running towards him. A bit early for the research crew, he thought. 

\- Hey, hey, - the figure finally caught up with him and he vaguely recognised a woman from the terra-forming team. She was not in the off-word pressure suit at the moment, but her face looked familiar.  
\- What is it? - he huffed, suddenly annoyed for no reason.  
Hi there, - she smiled, with almost a childish grin. Her cropped brown hair in a mess from running - you are our technician, aren’t you? Just as well, one of our smaller resource ships got scratched up on a mission when going though some debris. Pretty bad job, I had to land it manually.  
The technician eyed her up suspiciously. No one told him anything about that.  
\- You did? Where?  
\- The sand pit outside the port, - she continued cheerfully - a rookie job, I know, but when you see it you'll be happy I didn't attempt to land it here, could’ve caused a lot of mess. Well anyway, it WAS a mess, the recording system off-board is busted, can’t recover any evidence it was not all my fault, so can’t get company insurance. They will give me hell for this, I was the only crew member on board. Can you spare any of your crew? I am sure you are a busy man, but if someone could fix it up so it at least flies, it would save my neck, it really would!-

She smiled sweetly and made a pleading face and suddenly looked very young. But something about this was odd. There had been no reports of a broken down ship landing in the pit. And the terra-forming company were not cheap, ships came back looking pretty ghastly often enough, work on uninhabited or polluted planets is not all fun, they were typically uninhabited for good reasons, but the ships were more often than not replaced instantly by newer models. The crew were explicitly told not to bother with any repairs. His frown deepened. As if reading his mind she continued in the same sweet tone. 

\- You know right, what is going on with our funders, the senate? Another mess. We are getting new management and we were told to expect some re-shuffling, cuts most likely. I was hoping to get my own team, but not when I return them a broken ship! And with no insurance evidence! Looks sloppy. And of course I can pay the costs, I know your guys are always keen on some extra credits.  
She was now standing with her hands on her hips, grey eyes looking at him intently. Now that sounded a bit more like what he would expect - she probably already promised a job to a couple of them if they kept quiet about the landing. All she needed was his blessing.

\- Alright, alright, - he mumbled, why was he getting so tired suddenly - I suspect you know where the crew is, off the record, I assume, agh... just get it out of my sand pit before the day is done. Anything else?  
No sir, thank you! - she beamed at him, and was already running off with her lab coat flapping. 

She needed a ship. That’s all that went through her head when she heard the news. The senator from Naboo. She did not know the guy, never cared for politics, but she did know that the same day he took the senate, her boss was informed that from now on they will be fully funded by them and that they should expect an inspection. Many took it as a blessing, InterGalactic did nothing but push for profits, new ways to monetise their research. But her colleagues were blind - she would rather negotiate with bankers, they were people of logic, they needed a reasonable reputation to do business, she hoped to pitch and sell some of her smaller side projects to them, wrangle a team of her own maybe... the way they took over funding, no talks, no protocol, it was clear that the new senate will not negotiate. Oh well, not the first time it's been an abandon ship situation. She had hoped to stay on Taris longer, maybe even settle. 

But now she needed a damn ship. So she carefully crashed the small mission zapper right into debris near the near moon, as they were exiting. It was a solo, droid-assisted sample collection, with a purposefully mangled com link. The droid was a sample storage unit and knew no better. The ship was supposed to be on autopilot. But the old model was known to be buggy and they were replacing them at every possible opportunity. The moment it landed she ran a status report and the ship was written off by the unit IT who just rolled their eyes at her when she fixed the video link. She got away with worse in the past. By the time they think to dig deeper, if they do at all, she will be in hyperspace, on a transport ship, having sold the fixed up scrapheap at a shady dealer’s on the closest inhabited moon. All she owned was already on board, stored on several datapads and the droid was filled up with the only couple of samples she worked on that really mattered. It took several more trips to the sandpit and a lengthy chat with a junior mechanic who was very helpful, asked reasonable money for the fix and no questions when she asked to take off any external tracking, all the while eyeing her up dreamily. She thought if she told him now to hop on board and take off he would do so eagerly. Maybe he too could feel the oppressive atmosphere settling itself over the city.  
.........

The whole week has passed business as usual. The head mechanic started to think that’s how it will be, people on the top changed, those on the bottom kept doing the same thing. But then a big landing cruiser occupied most of his bay. He had no prior warning, only a last minute call saying he had 10 minutes to clear off the area. That caused a commotion and he already disliked whoever was about to get off that ship. It was a bunch of clones in their galactic uniform that popped out as the huge middle panel of the starship slid off. They were heading right for him.

\- Identify your station - the first one barked - are you in charge of this facility?  
\- I am in fact, what is this nonsense..  
He did not have time to finish, he was dragged to the figure that emerged from the ship, dressed in military green, it was a middle aged man with almost no hair left and a square set jaw.  
\- Ah, I do apologise. Please let him down. We are in a hurry, hand over all records of landings and departures from TerraForm team. We are here to inspect our investments, - he smiled but it didn’t each his eyes.  
\- I had no prior request sent...  
He cut him off with a dismissive gesture  
\- This IS the official request, we represent the galactic senate.  
\- TerraForm is not a government facility, it’s a private business. I cannot hand over private records without a criminal warrant or something, they are ..  
He was cut off with the quick flicker of light and then he couldn’t breath. How can you forget you needed to breath? Then it was dark.

Tarkin put away his blaster and dismissed the troopers with a nod to dispose of the corpse and to fetch the records. He really did not have time for this, they were at war and he was heading to the Outer Rim which was officially under his charge. They needed TerraForm crew to come in for setting up new bases on the uninhabitable terrains. It only took a week after they took over and now many of the staff had disappeared after the manager and several key staff resigned. And if they were not working for them they could very well start working for the separatists. And of course there was the other issue. Palpatine was very clear it has to be dealt with immediately. He called a trooper over.

\- I need a record of all the TerraForm female staff. Run a face recognition check and see which ones are listed in the database with more than one ID. 

..... 

Her real name was Eila, it did not appear on any of her IDs. Selling the ship was easy, she gave it away cheaply, but then again she only needed a one way ticket and credits to last a month or two. In any case the dealer will not remember her face or voice. She used her little talent sparingly and elegantly. Gently re-directing the flow of small discharges that wiz up and down the brain. Just scramble the signal a tiny bit and a memory will not form. You need to know when and how of course. Implanting false memories was much, much harder. But practice makes all the difference. Also humanoids were by and large simple. Now whole ecosystems, where the energy flows and is exchanged, its hidden currents that make or break the life cycles, that was difficult and fascinating. With the right tools you can tweak them and save life from extinction or wipe it out completely. Her hands clutched the rucksack holding her datapads and her rather inelegant storage droid wheeled its egg-shared body behind her noisily. She managed to wipe all his TerraForm affiliated memory and records, but the blasted company logo would not come off from its side, so she stuck an obnoxious sticker on it. If the droid thought anything of it, it did not comment. 

The huge hyper-cruise leaving the transport bay was heading for Scaparus Port on Arkanis, in the Outer Rim where she would change for Bespin, her main destination. She had a contact there at another much smaller facility funded by InterGalactic, whom she met on a joint exchange mission. He heavily implied at the time that poaching her from TerraForm world be his pleasure. Not a permanent solution, just another temp job before she can finally set all the pieces into motion. It has to be the right place, right people. Doing it all on her own would be too long and impractical... It would be nice to have a team again, even if she would never trust anyone completely after what happened last time she thought she had a team. But she was getting ahead of herself... “Shhh...one step at a time, one step...”


	3. Who are you?

From early morning Obi-Wan knew it would be a tiring day, as if the Force was whispering to him faint warnings. The suns were just up, but the heat already swept through the waste. The air was suffocating and each breath burnt the insides of his throat. A trip to Anchorhead did nothing to improve his mood, he needed spare solar units and to get out of here. Just as he was packing up his purchases onto the speeder he saw Beru in a small crowd of people talking in an agitated way, he did not need his Force sense to see alarm on their faces. He ran across, his heart racing madly, pushing through people. He took her hand briskly.  
\- Beru, look at me! Where is Luke?!  
She stared blankly at him for a second without recognition then her eyes watered  
\- Ben, he is OK, at home with Owen. He is safe. There was a raid, they were taking older children, teenagers. Several neighbouring farms, my sister, her son and daughter both gone. I couldn’t do anything! I was with my baby Luke inside, I heard the shouting and the blasters. They shot her ... they ...  
She broke down with sobs onto his chest. She was still so young, he thought, what was he thinking handing her the small crying Luke. He took her away from the crowd which was staring to argue amongst itself.  
\- I am so sorry Beru. Do you know where they are taking them?  
She looked up and he saw a glimmer of hope in her swollen eyes. He swallowed - This was bad Kenobi, why couldn’t you keep your mouth shut!  
\- Oh Ben! Owen said not to get you involved. I know you two can’t see eye to eye. But he is a foolish, stubborn man! You still have it don’t you? - she dropped her voice - the light sword? You still remember how to use it? Ben, they are taking them off plant form Mos Eisley, I’m sure. Ben, please.  
She started crying again. He knew he shouldn’t risk this. He cannot fight every fight, he has to make choices that would keep Luke safe. 

\- I do not know what I can do for them. They could be in hyperspace already and then anywhere. My duty lies here, with Luke.  
\- No, no they are still here, I’m sure, the port in Mos Eisley has several ships large enough to hide them. They always travel at night and they will reach it by dawn. You can do it, can’t you? Ben, please bring them back! Their father has gone mad, he wouldn’t let go of my sister's s body, he just sits there... I don’t think he understands what is happening anymore ...  
He took a breath. Is he still that person? What does the universe want of him now? Doing what she asked was foolishness. If he so much as whipped his lightsaber out for a second and someone saw, he would compromise himself and Luke. Anakin will know and he will come, kill him and take Luke away to be raised into another weapon for Palpetine. But maybe he could save these kids. Quietly, at night, wipe out several raiders, take off. He couldn’t save the younglings, he did not have a choice then. But now..  
\- I will do what I can, but Beru, you must tell no one, not even Owen.  
\- Never, never, Ben! Thank you! Oh Ben!  
She took him into a tight embrace and continued sobbing. He gently peeled her away.  
\- I must go now. Go back to your family. Console your sisters husband, but do not give him false hope. I may well fail. Do you understand?  
She nodded furiously, he doubled she heard what he said. She clung to hope like a drop of water without a moisture farm in sight. He touched her shoulder and walked off swiftly towards his speeder. 

.........

Tracking Tuskans across the dessert at night was near impossible. It was a great big place, and they would not take the obvious route to Mos Eisley. He turned off all the navigation lights on his speeder and moved soundlessly over the dunes, keeping low, stopping to sense what he could from the dark and cold air. There were sand creatures hunting, strange large birds that came out only at night to feast on any dead or dying who had been caught up in the dessert in the day. No raiders, no large animals, nothing. He could spend all night here chasing shadows. His only chance was to head to Mos Eisley and wait for the raiders there, they would need to pass on the kids to someone and get paid if they were truly taking them off planet. The town was a big place, but by no means huge. He can make enquiries, but he has to be quick. He set the course and hit full speed.

Unlike Tuskans in the desert, slavers in Mos Eisley are much easier to track down. After a few mind tricks and a friendly drink, he knew who was going to pay for the teenage cargo. The slaver in question was also a captain of a off-world passenger cruiser with limited hyperspace capability that did regular trips to Geonosis and Arkanis, which was the closest planet that had a bigger trans-galactic port and fully hyperspace-capable ships that could take you anywhere in the galaxy. The issue was that the cruiser was leaving in an hour, before sunrise, so most of the passengers would not miss their transfer ships from Geonosis. He did not have fond memories of that place. This meant the kids were already on board, they would have to be, because the ship was not due back until next week! Damned Tuskans, how could they travel faster than a speeder?! But they may not be.. if they were not going off planet. That would buy him time. But he could not risk it, so he was crouching beside the slaver'ls ship, not difficult to spot being the largest in the hanger, and extended his senses into its tarnished hull ... people... some excitement ... worry ... further, deeper in.. now.. fear, desperate and animal like ... he felt sick. They were on board. There was no time now. He walked passed the guard, waving his hand when he opened his mouth and went deeper, past the first staircase to the upper deck, passing a cluster of chatting passengers who looked at him blankly, to find a quiet spot. He needed a plan. 

.......

 

The ship landed with a huge bang, and then was pulled onto the gravitational rails to dock with an empty hanger space. Obi-Wan still did not have a plan. He knew only that his best chance was to take them over during the transfer off the ship. The passengers were leaving one by one, several were moving their storage units off the ship. He hid himself as deep into the hull as he could until he heard the top deck door click. It must be the captain. Someone was walking in through the port panel into the ship.  
\- Hey old man, - the voice spoke Basic but in a much lower register - got my order?  
\- So hasty, Tavi, yet so late to pay. I got the kids. They are all good and capable, no older than 16 standard years, you will get them when you pay.  
The low gargling noise must have been laughter.  
\- When have I not paid? Just wanted to make sure you got the cargo, before you get your credits. They are staying in till lights off at the main hanger, as usual, you feed them for me would you? Some of them got quite a journey ahead. See you at the watering hole, yea, you’ll get your credits, old man.  
Tavi got out noisily. The Captain headed back onto the upper deck.  
‘As usual ... as usual!’, his blood was beginning to boil. No, he cannot afford justice to be served here and now. The kids would be safe, they would be long gone before this leech came back. But how will he get them back? Kill the captain, the crew, who must be somewhere on the lower deck, pilot the ship back? That’s an option. What about when he lands? He was sure the ship would be tracked by the rest of the slaver’s crew once he enters the Tatooine atmosphere, he knew as much form that drink with one of them... He is no Anakin, he cannot just mechanic it all away and go. He could get back, when he lands, deflect the shots, but not with a bunch of unarmed teenagers behind his back. They might just shoot him out of the sky when they realise there was no captain on board. No. He needed another ship. His mind was finally clear again, he had a plan. But first.. 

....

He followed Tavi who was a Dug, all the way to a seedy bar close to the port hanger on the street, two levels above. It was full, mostly of passengers who needed to kill couple of hours in transit but wisely did not want to go any deeper into the town. This place was still an enormous improvement on anything at Anchorhead or Mos Eisley. Mainly, it did not smell as much. He bought a drink and was lazily watching Tavi sprawl over the leather sofa in the far corner, waiting until he found out who his friends were. The Dug would not collect his cargo alone, no, and he would gladly take them out one by one. One ring of slavers, quiet, quick, he can do it somewhere on the street without even using his sabre. He will just shoot them with their own blasters... hide the bodies..then he would deal with the captain and the ship.. 

His thoughts got interrupted, Tavi was looking at his holopad then up at someone at the bar; back to holopad. Then he felt it, the Force was spreading like a thin mist, it was subtle, strange, nothing he ever felt before, where was it coming from? He followed Tavi’s gaze. 

.....

It was a disaster. Damn the Outer Rim, damn this planet, damn this forsaken part of galaxy, where nothing worked. Life can be a beautiful, fascinating, sophisticated dance of creatures. But this - this was just an ugly and dangerous mess. Eila got as far as Scaparus Port on Arkanis, before her transfer ship broke down. Granted, they refunded half of the ticket, but there was not another damned ship for a week! No, this would not do, all the samples in her egg-droid would die! She needed a private ship, a cargo freighter that takes a few people for extra credits. More dangerous, but quicker, maybe a blessing in disguise. Currently she was working her charms on a Mirialan who was apparently second in command on a small cargo cruiser for more delicate goods (what they were she didn’t venture to guess). He was going to Bespin, no stops, but the bastard was driving up an exorbitant price. He wouldn’t last long with her tweaking his decision centres, but she was so tired, her higher cognition was a mess, maybe the more basic limbic tricks would do just fine. She smiled sweetly and pushed just one pulse into his midbrain.  
\- Listen, Josi, you are a decent looking guy. You know I am hating this shithole of a place. What are you bargaining for, some extra credits off a poor girl? Ah, what a waste of your time.  
His gaze shot to her mouth, back to her eyes, then down again. She raised an eyebrow. Then an ugly creature patted Josi on the back and mumbled in a low voice.  
\- Josi, my friend, what do we have here, having fun? You gotta sign something off for me, I gotta go soon.  
Adrenaline shot straight into her brain, her pupils dilated, the creature was lying. Reading him quickly, she saw she was in danger, it was some form of a code phrase. She pressed harder onto Josi’s already hazy mind, all the while not dropping her smile.  
\- Tavi, buzz off, you got it wrong, nothing to ‘sign off ‘ here, - he said annoyed, not taking his gaze from her mouth.  
\- Old pall, you are forgetting, it’s a good deal, big deal.. just come for a sec...

Then several things happened quickly. A hooded figure materialised behind the ugly creature, it was a man, he put a hand on Tavi’s neck and she almost heard a crackling noise. No one saw it, no one heard it, but for her it was as brutal as en electric shock. She felt the man’s mind reach out and retrieve again. Tavi collapsed into a heap and the man scooped him into his arms.  
Ah, your friend here, had too much to drink - he smiled but his blue eyes were on her, she felt his mind reach out to hers, projecting loudly - go, now, danger. So loudly in fact she deflected it back with ferocity and replied instinctively.  
Don’t shout at me! - his eye widened and he was visibly shaken. His hood fell of exposing blond matted hair with some copper in it. Josi was still staring at her mouth. This was staring to look very strange and many stated to stare.  
\- Ah, - she managed after a pause - Josi, please, take care of your friend, the nice gentleman here, er, caught him. I will be right back, with another drink for you. Long day, eh? - Josi scooped the ugly thing up in his hands mechanically, still staring at her mouth, eyes glazed over. She turned and tried not to run, heading straight for the toilets. She did not look back to see what the strange blond guy was doing, the moment she turned the corner, she was spun around and dragged off into the darkness of the the street though a side exit. 

.........

Obi-Wan was not sure at what point he lost control of the situation. His mind was violently exposed, attacked with a blast of targeted Force, projecting annoyance with undertones of curiosity, his shielding was as useful as a straw fence against a bullet. He must be slipping, he will have to get back into mental shape. But it was her. He was holding her by the forearm. She was almost his height, brown messily cropped hair, grey eyes. Confused, annoyed. Not afraid. She was certainly not a Jedi, none of what she did back in the bar resembled any form of formal training. Damn, he was not sure what exactly she was doing with that Mirialan, some form of mind control? Was she a Sith? No. Must be a natural, one of the untrained Force users.  
\- Let go of me - she hissed - what the hell are you doing?!  
\- The Dug, he had a holo of you, you are on their wanted list. He is part of the local slavers gang, he must also double up as a bounty hunter. He was asking his friend to...  
\- Fuck, Fuck .. fuck... - she yanked her hand away. She was shielding, impressively so. She knew he tried to read her.  
\- I am leaving, you can return to whatever hole you sprang from, Mr Jedi.  
She started to walk away quickly, he caught up.  
\- How...?  
Come on, - she rolled her eyes,- is this a lightsaber or are you just happy to see me? - she gestured at the right side off his cloak, exactly where his weapon was hidden - What do you want from me?!  
\- You are a Force user, who trained you ? - She stopped and gave him a one over  
\- Force? Ok, you guys are a bunch of fanatics, who messed things up, you think you know anything about your blasted Force? Leave me alone, if you are a Jedi, you are sure as hell on all the ‘wanted’ lists! Didn’t they outlaw the lot of you ..? 

Suddenly the patch of the sky visible between the high buildings lit up and the sirens echoed some distance away. Dreadful timing! For whatever reason the new senate forces must be here, they would be sweeping the streets as they spoke, Obi-Wan had to get back to the slaver’s ship before it was too late.  
\- Listen, we have no time, come with me, I have a bunch children stolen from their parents who need to get back on Tatooine, then I can...  
\- Are you mad?! I am not going anywhere with you! Your lot, they tried to brainwash me when I was a kiddo. My loving folks were idiots enough to let them. But guess what?  
She turned and run towards a busy street, he felt lost and every instinct told him to follow. So he did, she was quick though, her slender form merging quickly with the crowd, but in her panic, she was clearly not looking where she was heading. The street was already speckled with clone troopers in white armour, stopping people, questioning. He looked up and saw it, in the dusky sky - the huge warship. Now fear shot through him - were they looking for him? How was he found out? Was Anakin here ...? Meanwhile, the girl disappeared. His gaze tied desperately to find her.. Shit! She was being held by one of the troopers, others where shouting and then they started to drag her away. He ran. They ducked into an alley, presumably to cuff her. Wait. Were they looking for her?! He froze in the mouth of the alley, he could leave now, save the kids, save himself. He peered in, trying to shield himself as much as he could. They had cuffed her and she finally looked scared. One was holding her to the wall, the other was punching furiously at his datapad. The third one was shouting into the comm.

\- One seven two, we apprehended a fugitive, priority category. We need reinforcements, we put the force cuffs on, but I’m not sure...  
He was cut off. Obi-Wan was on him, wresting him down, not daring yet to expose his lightsaber or use the Force. The others must be about to shoot him. But as he locked the clone into a death grip, he looked up and saw her - as if for the first time - he saw her as she really was. Eyes not grey, but deep mossy green, mixed with brown, framed by orange rims. Force radiated from her in violent yet controlled waves, her eyes locked on the other two troopers. They were suspended in midair, gripping their throats, choking. She lowered her head as if in defeat and looked away. He heard a noise, the small bones in their windpipes being broken and her cuffs dropped to the ground with a clank. He was still staring at her. They were looking for her?! Palpetine was hunting all Force users ... but was he hunting this one in particular? Thoughts were zapping through his mind like lightening. What she did there, how she used the Force like a lockpick to a mind, whatever she did to the force cuffs... Anakin was stronger in the force, he could probably make half the city combust. But she, oh she had an elegance he lacked. She did not let anger and fear make her sloppy, and if she knew what buttons to press, she would be a magnificent ... She was looking at him now. He let go of the dead trooper’s body and stood up. He could still feel the Force pulsating, she was gathering it up. Shit! He didn’t know what else to do so he took out and lit his lightsaber and instinctively stepped into a Soresu stance. With his training he had a good chance should she be now trying to kill him. But the next moment, to his astonishment, his lightsaber flickered and died as he felt a sharp and very precise bolt of force pressure hitting the mechanism inside. A second later this mental shields were under attack. First subtle pressure, then, when he resisted a thousand small threads were weaving their way inside, he couldn’t fight all of them. Afraid, he took a protective step back, whispering hoarsely  
\- Who are you?


	4. Part of my mind

Vader has no dreams. It was a side effect of the medication they had been pumping into him daily for the last five months. He knew he would never fully recover and he accepted it. In fact, he was glad that for the first time in his life no dreams or nightmares plagued him. He did not think about the past or the future. He could focus on the now more readily and so he did. In some respects his life had hardly changed; he was fighting a war, planning and executing attacks onto the separatist outposts, only now he had much more creative freedom in that and no one questioned his decisions. The niggling thought that he was still not fully in control, that he was still a slave to his new master, bothered him only occasionally. But then again he had been a slave all his life, at least the old Sith was clear about that and was not hiding his desire to control and use him behind a veneer of benevolence. Not like Obi-Wan.

In the first two months after Mustafar, he was mostly floating in bacta, three stumps and his old prosthetic hand outstretched, burns covering most of his body. The brief periods when he was conscious - laying on the medical bench, droids busying around him fitting his new prosthetics - these moments were filled with pure unbounded rage.

He hadn’t saved Padme or their child. He hated himself for that, but no matter how many times he tried to re-play those moments in his head, he could not remember anything clearly. Everything from the moment he pledged himself to Palpetine, stood up from his knees as Darth Vader and was sent to the Temple to force the Jedi Council to surrender was all one big blur . He knew he must have killed them. He remembered sensing their fear and anguish in the Force but he did not see their faces, nor was he in full command of his movements.

He suspected Palpetine took over his mind, not trusting him to do the job. Perhaps he was right not to. Vader did not really wish to know exactly how it had all played out, it was too late now and he couldn’t let the past hold him back. He hated Palpatine for his methods, but that he could mentally file away for now. He had time to figure out how to deal with his new master and how to eventually repay him for what he suspected he had done. What he guessed he had been doing to his mind for years.

But on that fateful day, he came fully back to his senses only when facing Obi-Wan on the lava field. He saw anger and disappointment in his old master’s bright blue eyes and needed no further encouragement to fight him. Years of pent up emotions, of all which had been denied to him by Obi-Wan, all that he had hidden from him under the pretence of perfect control, all of it came rushing out at once. Their duel was inevitable.

He hoped when he finally won he would drag Obi-Wan away, force him to listen and see that changes to the galactic order could not be delayed anymore; to make him understand how the republic in its current state was simply unsustainable. With Obi-Wan by his side the possibilities were endless... 

If not, he would end his master then and there and with him end the anguish and torture, any attachments that still tied him up. 

He was not blind, he knew Obi-Wan loved him, he knew all too well the fire that burned in his master’s chest. If only he had ever been allowed to touch it, if only he had trusted him enough, let him in. Too late. One tactical mistake and then there was only pain. 

Now, five months have passed and the blind rage has subsided. He looked at his new life rationally. There was work he needed to do and he had sacrificed too much to back down now. He will restore order to the galaxy, imperfect but functional. Perhaps then he will deal with Palpetine. 

For all the self-sacrifice Jedi loved to preach, not one of them had been ready to make the only sacrifices that were truly necessary. Hypocrisy was all it boiled down to. 

Drug-induced haze still dulling his mind, Vader stood up from his bed in his private cabin of the Star Destroyer, stretching out his prosthetic limbs. 

With the wealth that his new master held, these were truly pieces of art. Vader had tweaked them nonetheless to suit his needs. His heavy battle armour would clip onto the small latches, but in his private chambers he never wore it. He looked briefly into the shiny mirror above the sink. He had healed well, Anakin’s handsome face - framed by long brown curls that hid some of the burn scars - was staring back at him. Eyes the colour of deep amber framed with red rims. He remembered the first time he saw his face, in a small mirror he had found on a stand next to his medical bed on Coruscant, where he was sent after Mustafar, half-dead. He also remembered screaming out in rage and fear, shattering all droids around him with a force wave. Would he always look so hideous?! 

For all his other faults, his vanity at least he fully acknowledged and accepted. He liked being handsome. He took pride in his body and he had enjoyed being desired. Slowly and steadily, he healed the worst of his injuries and, after endless sessions of droid-assisted restorative surgery, the result was surprisingly bearable. 

Palpetine, of course, would not approve; he was supposed to be a dreaded half-machine as far as separatists and rebels were concerned. So as not provoke him, Vader designed a mask that would connect to the external armour as a protective helmet and modulate his voice to sound more droid-like

When he put on all of his armour at once, he was almost invincible! He could easily survive if exposed to open space and most importantly the visual effect was truly terrifying. But, he often thought, it was not the dark soulless durasteel and an inhuman voice they should be afraid of. No, it was the emptiness, the cold apathy soothed only by the comforting power of the darkness that he harboured inside, the fact that it felt so natural. Now that should truly terrify them, as it used to terrify him. Not anymore. Now he embraced this part of himself, no guilt, no fear remained.

Stepping away from the mirror and throwing a dark robe over his part-metal body, he decided he needed a distraction. While his conscious mind is calm and empty, his subconscious, entangled and driven by the needs of his body, ached for contact and would not settle until he had it. Why should he resist those urges now? If he couldn’t have what he truly desired he would settle for what he can have. He punched a few numbers in this comm.

\- Yes, send the mechanic from the tech group, the one working on the prototype fighters. To my cabin with immediate effect. 

He didn’t need to wait too long for the quiet knock on his door. He used the Force to slide it open. Behind it was a confused-looking young man, no older than himself, wearing what would soon become the imperial uniform, his straw blond hair a mess, blue eyes anxious. The man cast his gaze around the room before entering, then at Vader in his robe, then away in embarrassment. 

“This would have to do” Vader thought to himself and waved him in. The man nodded and walked in trying not to look at him. 

\- You sent for me, general... 

Vader moved closer and grabbed his chin with metal fingers, forcing the man to look directly into his eyes. It was easy to sense his fear, he could almost smell it on the mechanic’s shallow breath, but under it was... relief? 

“Yes”, he chuckled to himself, “he must have been expecting a monster, none of them ever saw me without my armour before”. Vader examined his face, short stubble, light freckles on the cheeks. Ah, he might enjoy this more than he thought.

He angled his face and pressed a rough kiss onto the man’s lips. He could feel how the mechanic’s whole body shook at the impact. Yet when the initial shock subsided he could sense a faint echo of desire as the man’s jaw relaxed and he responded.He needed no further invitation, he was pulling him deeper into the kiss, metal fingers pulling at the man’s hair. 

Then something strange happened. The part of his mind that he thought dead sprung back to life. The bond to his former master, that he had completely disowned, assumed was cut, was tugging at his consciousness. Not breaking the savage kiss, he followed the connection through, unable to resist. It radiated alarm and pressure. Then he felt someone else’s presence on the other side. They were pushing in, Obi-Wan was under a mental attack from another Force user and was unconsciously reaching out to him. Vader was being pulled in by the sheer brutality of it. 

The next second, he was staring right into Kenobi’s face, who was sprawled on the ground, smeared with blood and dirt. Vader could hear explosions around them, clone troopers shouting. Obi-Wan was staring at him, his lips whispered something, then twitched into a small smile, crinkling the corners of his eyes. It was a memory they shared during one of the endless battles of the Clone Wars. It was all coming back to him, he was re-living it, the blast, how he thought his master was dead, his heart nearly stopping in his chest, then seeing him unharmed and ... 

He couldn’t take this! This had to stop! With a wave of Force, he threw the man in front of him to the other side of the room. The mechanic landed on the floor, the air knocked out of him.

\- Get out! Now! - was all he could manage before darkness claimed him.

The man scrambled to his feet, looking like he finally saw the monster he expected to see and ran though the door.

 


	5. The bonds we make

The assault on Obi-Wan’s mind become unbearable, deeper and deeper, barrier after barrier falling with unwavering determination. He felt strands of his memories escape form under his shields, he was panicking. How much did she know by now? He couldn’t tell. He grabbed his head and growled, he will not last much longer. Then a single thought materialised somewhere deep within his mind - let her, just let her in. 

Instead of pushing the girl away, both of his hands shot up to grab sides of her head and he pressed their foreheads together, and dropped his shields, letting her in completely. His mind flooded hers and hers rushed in to meet it. To her, it came as a shock, she tried to pull away but he held them tight together. 

Their worlds merged, minds synced and now there was only one mental vision, only one stream of perception. They were both experiencing the same memory flashbacks, strange snippets of events with blurred outlines the way the mind stores them. 

They saw clone troopers running from a large explosion and Obi-Wan trying to shield them from blaster fire, crying out something incomprehensible, falling behind, when his ears rang from a pressure bomb going off nearby. Next second, Anakin’s worried, disgruntled face appearing just above him, searching his eyes, radiating with relief. The vision shifts and now they were on a path up a big green hill, several lakes shining in the distance below, a woman walking in front turning back and smiling at them. This memory was saturated with a sense of calm belonging, the likes of which Obi-Wan could not recall even in the depths of meditation. 

The vision shifts again, now they are in the council chamber, standing next to Qui-Gon, who throws him a sideways glance and a wink. Obi-Wan’s old master looked handsome in a dishevelled kind of way and much younger than he remembered him last. 

The scene melted away slowly and then they were outside of a stone built cottage, walls half-covered with strange climbing plants, sun beams bouncing off the metallic surface of a small corvette spacecraft. Obi-Wan instantly recognised it as being a type he was used to seeing in the Temple hanger. They were being held by the hand and gently but firmly pulled towards someone in light brown robes. Obi-Wan could hear a young girl trying to suppress her sobs. 

The shared vision faded out as they both came back to the dark alley, where three dead troopers were lying sprawled on the ground, two of them had blood smearing their white armour and pale faces. 

While their streams of consciousness separated they were both keenly aware that they could still faintly feel each other’s presence. Still not fully back to his senses, Obi-Wan was examining her face. She was clearly in shock, eyes wild, staring blankly, he guessed she never had her mind linked with someone so completely before. Obi-Wan was not new to this, what he shared with Anakin was similar, not so visual and vivid, but quite similar. 

-Eila, that’s your name, isn’t it? Come here, look at me, - she finally shifted her gaze, acknowledging him - We need to go. It’s OK, you are safe for now, I will not hurt you, come, we need to go quickly or the clones will find us, kill me and take you away.

That seemed to work. She focused her eyes on him for a split second, then on the dead troopers and finally she grabbed her rucksack, lying next to the wall and nodded. 

-Lead the way.

........

They were running away form the main street, following the alleys and all the while the sirens seemed to get louder and closer. They finally found one of the side entrances to the the passenger port hangar. The yellow maintenance lights were on, it was mostly deserted apart from the repair and cleaning droids. The main port gate at the far north side was shut, no one is able to depart or land at this time. The huge metal dome overhead amplified the noises the droids were making, metal hitting metal, small wheels scraping the floor, the low chime of binary they were using to communicate with each other. 

Obi-Wan led them via passenger shafts and emergency staircases to the docking place of the slaver’s ship. As they approached it from its side, the ship looked deserted. Still, Obi-Wan could easily detect the hum of life inside. Whatever plans he had for the rescue mission were out of the door now and improvisation was the only remaining option. He missed now Anakin’s talents in that department.

\- I need your help, - he whispered as they approached the portal door slowly, it was not locked - I will go in and try to take the crew out, some of them are still on board, very likely very well armed. I can not detect the captain, he must be off to collect his payment. He eyed her up cautiously. 

\- If any of them try to get out and run, you have to stop them ... this is the only entrance.

He felt her tense up. They both knew what he was asking of her. Then he slid the port door open and disappeared in the darkness within. She stood there anxiously waiting, she could feel his emotions as a faint echo. To her this was very new, fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

She heard a hiss and a thud of something heavy landing on the floor, then a sound of feet hammering at the metal stairs coming from the hull of the ship. Suddenly Kenobi was jumping from the upper to the main deck, a whirl of blue light, landing softly in front of the door with his back to her. His lightsaber above him in an aggressive stance was illuminating the faces of the crew that scrambled at the top of the lower staircase. For a second no one moved, then they started shooting from their blasters, he gracefully reflected every bolt that came close. The first man in the line fell down, then the second, and when the other two rushed back downstairs, Obi-Wan followed. 

Eila couldn’t stand there any more than she could turn around and run, despite every survival instinct telling her to do just that. The bottom of the stairs opened into a large hull filled with containers of all kinds, scattered around without care. Obi-Wan was standing with his lightsaber lowered facing the larger of the two crewmen, who was holding a scrawny teenage boy by the shoulder, blaster pointing to the back of his head. The boy just stared with large brown eyes right in front of him, pupils reflecting the blue glow. Loking around, she noticed other small and scared faces dotted around the hull, peering from behind containers. The other crew member, the shorter human, was holding a girl by her neck. 

\- Better slaves and alive than dead and free, eh? How about we forget you showed up, Jedi, you know half the galaxy wants your head?

Obi-Wan just stood motionless. She could feel he was gathering himself for something. 

\- Let them go and I will allow you to keep your head, - he smirked. He didn’t feel any of the control he was projecting. - Surely you enjoy it being attached to your body. 

The eyes of the larger human narrowed, he didn’t speak and instead painfully squeezed the shoulders of the boy he was holding, but the lad didn’t make a noise. She was suddenly aware of Obi-Wan’s thoughts being projected into her perceptual stream, clearly, as if he was speaking out loud 

\- “break his blaster now, I will do the rest”.

Of course, she was being bloody useless! She focused on the blaster and saw a standard mechanical trigger behind the plastic surfacer. A connection snapped with a loud click, and the same moment Obi-Wan jumped in front of the kid, shoved him aside and with one stroke cut the man, shoulder to waist. 

The smell of burning flesh spread though the hull and the shorter crewman lost the contents of his stomach onto the floor, letting go of the girl. With another move and a step, he was decapitated by the flash of the blue light. 

She couldn’t stand the smell of blood and sizzling flesh any longer, so Eila ran upstairs and sat onto one of the boxes, attempting to suppress the wrenching of her guts for the second time that day. Today was not the first time she took life or witnessed it being taken, but four in one day was a new and alarming statistic. 

Kids were pouring out from downstairs, a dozen of them until finally Obi-Wan emerged. The silence was broken by the kid who was threatened by a blaster mere seconds ago.

\- That was cool! I wish I had one of those when they showed up at our farm! In half, did you see?!

Eila was hardly breathing. This was crap, this was so very very shit! What had she got herself into? When did she lose control? She was feeling her freedom slipping away from her, like the small silver fish she used to catch with bare hands when she was small and safe in her home... That was another bad chain of thought! 

Obi-Wan was talking to the kids but watching her from the corner of his eye. 

\- We must move now and find a ship to get you back home. Others will come soon, one of the droids may have picked up the blaster shooting and reported it. Is everyone here?- They nodded one by one. She cleared her throat.

\- The Mirialan ship is here...somewhere. I know how it should look and its approximate location, he ... told me, - she saw Obi-Wan raise his eyebrow, but he did not interrupt, - They are supposed to depart tomorrow. I don’t know if it’s empty, but the captain, Josi said he was on the town... emmm... visiting some ... eh. It will not be tracked, they are too far from their base. But I don’t know how to get it out of the hangar. When will maintenance finish?

One of the girls raised her hand to speak.  
\- They, - she glanced downstairs - they were saying it will be another two hours at least.  
Obi-Wan made a move for the door and looked outside briefly. 

\- Then we find the ship. I might still know how to break into it’s security, it has been a little while... but I can pilot it back. Everyone please stick close by. Eila... 

Her name sounded strange in his voice, no one called her that for some time and every time he said it, she felt a little nervous. She moved to the door and slipped out into the hum and the flickering yellow lights.

......

Finding the ship was not difficult, following the memories she lifted from Josi, but keeping track of the kids was a nightmare. All of them were children of farmers who had never travelled off planet before and the huge port hangar was as exciting as it gets for them. 

Obi-Wan sincerely hoped that the novelty would distract their young minds from the gory display they just witnessed. He tailed their small procession, occasionally hushing them down. 

The ship was several levels below, it was small and seemed completely empty. Obi-Wan reached out through the Force and confirmed no living creatures inside. Then he nodded expectantly at Eila.

\- Can you do your thing please, we are in a bit of a hurry. - She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. 

\- My thing?

\- Yes. The one where you look at something and it breaks. That would come very handy right about now, - he whispered and stared at her intently.

\- That’s not how this works! - she tried not to raise her voice and stay calm- I can see inside, so to speak, and break something only if i know how it’s supposed to function, then I know what to break! If I try to mess with this door and its internal mechanism is not something I’ve seen before, the alarm will go off and we are busted! 

He stroked his unshaven chin. 

\- If you can see inside ... can you tell me the location of a chip with changing numbers, approximately the size of a palm? 

\- Oh, ok. One second. - she focused and the door's surface melted away in her mind, she could see complex mechanics and wires underneath, closer to the bottom was the chip. - Here! - she pointed. Obi-Wan pressed his lightsaber to the spot and ignited it, it went through the door like butter, piercing the chip. Something inside beeped. 

\- Now the alarm is dead, - he pressed his lightsaber to what looked like a key hole in the side door, melting the metal and the lock underneath it. With several yanks he managed to get the door open.

\- Welcome on board, - he smiled, clearly pleased with himself, and waved them in.

This was a small ship with only one main deck, several personnel rooms and the pilot’s deck. Obi-Wan went straight in there, started the systems up and prayed to the Force that the on-board security system was simple enough for him to hack into. 

Eila silently watched him frown, roll his eyes and punch different keys on the dashboard in exasperation. The children were already exploring the rooms and tiny hull of the ship, which seemed to contain mostly old-fashioned filing cabinets. 

She was contemplating ending his frustration and helping out when he finally managed to get in by disconnecting several wires and forcing the ship into the factory-blank AI mode. Watching him smile in triumph again she couldn’t help but think of how he cut the slavers in front of her without much hesitation. 

It made sense of course from what she lifted off his surface memory ... Obi-Wan Kenobi, a general of the Galactic fleet who fought in the Clone Wars ... he was a Jedi Knight, groomed as an efficient assassin. She saw his violence, it came only out of necessity but when it did, he was trained not to hesitate. Was he as brainwashed and blinded by righteousness as the few other Jedi she had had the misfortune to meet? But what did she care anyways? He will return to the backward planet he was clearly hiding on, with a bunch of unwashed kids, who are destined to spend their life struggling. She will be on her way too, as soon as it was convenient. It has to be soon, she eyed a little freeze-pack that contained the few precious samples she took from her now abandoned egg-droid. 

She did not realise she was projecting and pulling gently at his mental shields, he was barely blocking her, only enough to focus on his task. 

\- You know you can just ask me what you wish to know without snooping around in my mind, - he said without turning around - I’m done here. As far as I can tell, we can start up as soon as the main port entrance is open and the gravitational rails can be disconnected. For now we are locked up. 

\- What will happen when we land on... was it Tatooine? I would very much like to keep this ship, better still to exchange it for a different one and be completely out of your hair. You seem to have your hands full as it is - she gestured back towards the bunch of teens now getting nosy, picking things up from the cabins and pocketing some of them no doubt. 

He gave her a questioning look from under the eyebrows, blue eyes measuring her up. 

\- I have a suspicion I would not really be able to stop you should this be your desired cause of action. But I don’t think you will get very far. You are strong in the Force, no doubt about that. In ways that I do not completely understand. Perhaps you can just keep hiding as you were for years... But you didn’t really have much exposure to the other force-users like yourself, perhaps on purpose? Others who can match your abilities, not in style but in brute power? 

He was eying her up intently while trying to keep his tone casual. 

\- The new senate is not just after the Jedi, our chancellor has a keen interest in all force-sensitive creatures. I have a strong suspicion he is after someone with your skills at mind control to add to his growing collection of human weapons, not someone who can win wars with armies, he already has that... but more subtle political conflicts, which he cannot yet afford to force to his benefit. 

Eila watched him with suspicion. She clearly was not the only one who lifted some memories during their joined mind-trip.

\- And you know this much about him ... how?

\- Oh, - he shook his head - a long story. I will indulge you when we have more time. 

As he was speaking the dashboard of the ship lit up green, indicating they could disconnect from the docking. 

\- Hey! - One of the older girls, was tugging on the sleeve of Eila’s black overcoat. - Miss, you might want to see this ... - she was pointing to one the round windows inside the cabin that faced the expanse of the port hangar. 

The main hangar entrance was slowly opening, its internal mechanism proceeding at glacial pace, making the opening bigger and bigger. But now a whole garrison of troopers in white armour was marching towards the port tower in the middle of the bay. The people on the top of the tower looked agitated, shouting something to them from above. Several smaller ships had already shot out between the huge metal jaws of the port gates. The troopers were jogging now. 

\- They are trying to take over the port authority, good job we have a small ship. Time to make a swift exit! 

Obi-Wan hit the panel disconnecting the ship from it’s docking. Several holo-warnings lit up, indicating an incorrect time of departure. The engines started noiselessly and as soon as they reached the desired temperature he switched to manual, shouting - hold on tight I’m not very good at this - as he hit full acceleration. 

Almost everyone was knocked off their feet and Eila, who managed to keep upright by holding onto the co-pilots chair, let out an uncharacteristic shrill as Obi-Wan aimed the ship for the narrow gap between the port gates. She watched the gap approach at speed and closed her eyes. She opened them at the very moment they were though, far, far too close to the top gate! On the left hand side she saw a dark outline of the Republic'cs giant warship. 

\- Kenobi! - she was aware she was shouting - That’s enough, thank you! - she barged him out of the way and took the main control lever. 

\- Be a darling and punch the coordinates in, I will do the flying. 

He raised his eyebrows at her but complied. 

\- We are not going to Tatooine directly, it’s too close, they might not be able to track though hyperspace, but if they have a smaller ship nearby, we might be tracked by proxy. We are going to use an indirect route... - he punched in some coordinates and pressed the hyperdrive on.

\- Everyone alright back there? - he turned to face the small nodding faces dotted around, hands grasping at the ships interior panels. As he was speaking Eila turned them away from the warship and hit the accelerator and the hyperdrive smoothly and simultaneously. Stars flashed by. 

The quite hum of she ship drowned the noise of the kids whispering, looking outside at the dancing lights and pottering around. Obi-Wan sat in the co-pilot seat as Eila disappeared somewhere into the hull. He was shielding form her, but she was not really trying to get in anymore. The scene from earlier today kept replaying in his mind. Her, troopers in midair, the sounds of broken bones, her eyes. He knew what that was supposed to mean. Did she kill innocents? Anakin’s eyes turned that colour after... Was he now making the same mistakes with her? Was he being blind? Will she turn on him when it no longer suits her? When their minds joined hers felt sharp and austere on the surface. The calculated precision with which she killed the troopers unsettled him. And yet she took no pleasure in that act. When he touched her memory he felt her vulnerability... The issue was, he no longer trusted his own judgements. 

In the last five months he had done nothing but question everything he believed in, the Code, the now mostly deceased Jedi Council, even his feelings for Anakin... The latter was a particularly disquieting chain of though. Nothing made sense anymore, his nicely delineated model of the world where the good and the bad wore obvious masks, where he knew what he must do, was crumbling.

He had to trust her, his intuition spoke at last, and more importantly he had to keep her from Palpetine. Even if her obvious self-centred nature and stubbornness reminded him alarmingly of his former padawan. He was holding his head in his hands and trying not to spiral back into that place which held nothing but pain. A hand landed gently on his shoulder, he hadn’t heard her approach.

\- I don’t need to be snooping around your mind to see you are not in the best shape in there.. Obi-Wan... do we even have a plan after we land?

\- Hmmm... I don’t really know, - he tried to smile as she lifted her hand away. 

\- Obi-Wan Kenobi, general of the Galactic Feet, a Jedi Knight - she landed in the pilots seat with a plop. - doesn’t really know?...- she smirked, chewing on something she brought back from the hull. 

\- Why don’t you instead tell me about yourself. I am in no mood for banter, - he was pinching the bridge of his nose and tried not to focus on how tired he was, releasing it into the Force.

\- What is there to tell? You know my name. I stopped using my parents' one the moment they gave me away to one of your Jedi talent scouts. But as you also probably guessed, I ran off days after I was delivered to the Temple. That was not fun let me tell you! One journey through hyperspace was enough for me to realise that my life will never be my own, if I should stay. I was too old anyways, almost 16! 

She continued, struggling to talk with a full mouth.

\- But your little green man told the others in the big round room that I must be taught. I ran off several days later and the rest is history. And no, I am no Sith, I don’t go off on killing sprees for fun. I didn’t really have a choice back then ... and you seemed very worried about it just now - She eyed him with a sideways glance and continued to munch on the packet of what looked like some meat sticks. 

\- So you met Yoda, our Grand Master .. - he mused, this must have happened when he was training Anakin. She could not be much older than his padawan. She nodded.

\- And he wanted you trained, interesting ... I never heard about you, and they never found you after you ran off? 

\- Oh they did, - she grinned with a full mouth, - but I got into the Academy with a fake ID, signed up for the Micro-scale Biology of the Living and Synthetic Systems and they were very very reluctant to give me back to the Temple. The late Dean was like a second father to me... a good guy, hated your lot, - she smiled, clearly caught up in some happy memory. 

He wasn’t sure what to make of this. Since when did the council try to bring a student in against their will? And why were they keen to train her at 16 when they refused to train Anakin at much younger age? His chain of thought was interrupted by coming out of the hyperspace. He punched in Tatooine's coordinates and she zapped the hyperdrive back on. 

\- It’s a home run! - he shouted into the the back of the ship. Several cheers responded. 

\- Also, I have a question, - Eila was going though her rucksack, stacking up and checking her data pads. 

\- I can pick up your cerebral responses, your thoughts, even without trying to get in, without focusing or tuning. It’s like some form of an internal link. Is this what they refer to as a mental bond? How did that happen? And should we... cut it off?

He could not control the flash of surprise shooting thought him at the suggestion. Cut it off..? Yes they most probably, very certainly should. 

\- A bond must have formed when we joined thought the Force, when you rushed so quickly in and I kept us joined... In truth, I don’t know. But I can feel its presence. It’s like a training bond a padawan shares with their master, and yet not so.

He avoided her second question. The truth was he missed the sensation of another being linked to him through the Force, missed the closeness and soft unconscious brushes of someone else’s mind against his own. He had never been locked out before. When for the first time they created their training bond with Qui-Gon he could always feel the invisible thread connecting his mind to a life outside of his own. Since he dare not touch his bond with Anakin he felt suffocated and now he felt free to breathe again.


	6. Hide and seek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s been a while ... Instead of listing my excuses, here is a new chapter.

Despite what most of his subordinates thought of him, Tarkin was a very patient man. His intolerance of inefficiency was often mistaken for impatience. While he did not approve of Palpatine’s extravagant methods nor blindly follow his ideology, as far as he was concerned, the ends justified the means. Most importantly he was very good at making the means logistically viable and well executed. This attitude, through years of the chancellor’s careful observation, had earned him respect and now he was swiftly propelled through the ranks of the newly formed empire. This, of course, brought immense personal power and made him privy to many of Palpatine’s schemes. In this particular case, however, his orders were exceedingly vague and frankly irritating. The chancellor did not trust him fully, not that Tarkin expected him to. Yet the lack of clarity was impeding his progress in the Outer Rim and his stoic patience was wearing thin. 

Having returned from this peculiar mission that the chancellor tasked him with, Tarkin was sitting in his private office on the top deck of his flagship, stationed in suborbital Arkanis. This ship and a portion of his fleet loomed over the planet’s main port and from the tinted window below Tarkin could see the steady stream of interplanetary traffic. The main planets of this sector were now under their control and works of setting up outposts had begun on schedule. On his monitor he flicked trough reports detailing resource bases of the Outer Rim. The majority of them had previously been run by poorly organised crime and clan mobsters who were now being re-apprehended and becoming cogs in the new imperial military machine. In most cases locals were happy to get rid of the mobsters and offered no resistance. In most cases... And then there were the nearly uninhabitable deserted places, rich in natural resources but too expensive to mine, even with droid labour. This is where the terraforming corporations came in, of which there were a few within reasonable distance... And yet he was ordered to abandon his fleet and chase down this girl from TerraForm, an obscure, backwater corporation, across half the galaxy. A girl that had something Palpatine wanted badly enough... something he would not trust to a run-of-the-mill bounty hunter. What puzzled him further was the fact that Palpatine suspected her of being a Force user. If so, why not give this job to one of his force-using mercenaries? Vader naturally came to mind.

He tapped his fingers impatiently on the keyboard and then punched in the combination to access his private holo-link, loaded up the last message that the chancellor had sent and pressed replay. A dark, hooded figure appeared hovering over his desk. The audio was crackly and distant as if the signal was coming form a heavily shielded place.

“Commander Tarkin, I await your report on the TerraForm acquisition. Specifically, there is a junior engineer, a young female I want you to locate and bring into custody personally. You will receive her file shortly. I want her taken in along with any possessions or cargo she exported from TerraForm. If she offers resistance, attempt apprehension without structural damage. At the very least keep her head and spine intact and on life support... If taken undamaged keep her in force cuffs and in the isolation chamber. Do not allow any force-users in her vicinity. When located, I want you to report immediately” - the last word was drawn out for emphasis. 

The hologram flickered out of existence but chancellor’s words and his venomous tone still rang in his ears. What did she have ..? What did she steal from TerraForm ...keep her brain intact ... keep force-users away... what did she know? It would have been so much easier to trace her if he knew what he was looking for. The ID file he received contained a photo of a girl in her 20s, her TerraForm logs and a name which was almost certainly fake. After TerraForm was taken over, the girl was never found. The staff questioned confirmed she was employed as part of the off-planet research team and was heard of last reporting back from a short mission. Then nothing. The analysis of their inventory logs, however, revealed several recently missing pieces of light equipment, including an old sample container droid and several portable cooling units. Through surveillance, the girl and the TerraForm droid were traced to a passenger transport heading to Scaparus on Arkanis. It was sheer luck that she was bound for the Outer Rim and into one of the larger ports in the sector he was tasked to secure. And now the troopers were already scanning through the port and nearby streets. The sooner he could rid himself of this odd business the better.

His thoughts were interrupted with an intercom buzz. On the other end was his lieutenant.  
\- Commander, sorry for intrusion. Vader’s personal fighter is requesting permission to dock. He informed us he ...  
\- Yes, send him in. 

He dropped the link and locked his screens, now eyeing up the chaotic city sprawling beneath his ship’s shadow with unmistakable disgust. Vader... think of the devil but once and he appears. He was curious to see how much of this TerraForm business Vader was privy to. Not much he’d vaguer. They did not have many previous interactions, but it was clear the man behind the mask was volatile, egotistical and ruthless. Nonetheless, he was in the chancellor’s favour due to his strength in the Force. While Tarkin cared little about the Force and trusted only the logical, measurable reality around him, he knew it was unwise to make Vader his enemy. And yet whatever it was he wanted - Tarkin thought as he was marching through the ship’s halls towards the lower deck - while he was on his ship, with his fleet and therefore under his command, he would need to be shown his place... 

.........

The best place to land a ship on Tatooine - without it being immediately spotted and stolen by one of the major gangs - were the Jundland wastes. They had to land somewhere in the middle and preferably behind a rock face, where the ship could be temporarily hidden. Obi-Wan could only comm Lars once they landed since their communicator was only good for on-planet use. As soon as they emerged from hyperspace, Obi-Wan switched on the landing board to put in what he hoped were correct coordinates. Eila was in the captain’s seat, heading them gently into the orbit of the planet which from above looked completely uninhabitable, a vast desert of mustard yellow and brown. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness below, she slowed the engines and initiated the landing routine. 

\- The coordinates are approximate, - Kenobi pointed out casually and she rolled her eyes, mumbling “of course they are”

\- There are plenty of relatively flat patches but try to land close enough to a rock face.

They emerged from the thin atmosphere and now the hazy pattern of Wasteland hills was approaching them at speed.

\- Going manual, ok, come away from the windows and grab something! Landing in 2 or less. 

When she was close enough to the surface, she followed the long cracked ridge line that stuck out from the dry earth like fossilised bones of an ancient creature, until she saw some flat sandy clearings. They landed amongst excited noises, kicking up a big dust cloud. Obi-Wan wasted no time and punched the code into his comm-link which was answered almost immediately.

\- Lars, it’s Ben. Yes! Yes... You saw us? Well that’s not good.... How long? No, wait till dusk. We will meet you at the wreck, we have no ground transport ... what? How many? - he turned around eyeing up the cabin - Fourteen... they are. ..well enough. .. We will. 

\- We are meeting Lars at the Hutt wreck. He will come alone with his largest cargo speeder and take you home, -he announced loudly amidst the children’s cheers - Scavenge the ship for food, we will move out 2 hours before dusk. 

In the general commotion, Eila caught the end of his sleeve and yanked him to one side. Through their fledgling bond he was loudly informed of her frustration.

\- Listen here, it’s all well and good for you to make arrangements. We got your kids back here, back to their families. Now I am taking the ship and getting out. You guys get what you need from the cargo, maybe there are things you can sell. I can wait ‘till dusk - it’s an oven outside - but that’s as far as we go together. I cannot stay and sample the local delicatessen. I must keep moving. 

He fixed her with a sardonic look and a raised eyebrow in a way she was not particularly comfortable with.

\- You are welcome to keep the ship... that is if you can keep it. But by now I think it has been registered as a stolen transport with a possible fugitive on board. Given the manner of your departure from Scaparus and a lovely bunch of dead troopers you left behind..

\- One of them you strangled yourself!

\- Quite right, but I don’t suppose they would care, since it was your ID they transmitted back to command.

She had to concede reluctantly that he made sense, but she would much rather not suffer his patronising tone. 

\- Yes, yes, and I suppose you are my only hope to get the ship exchanged for some worthless wreck to get me out of here. For a price, of course ... 

His expression mimicked hurt.

\- I would never ... but there is something you can do for me, - he gave her what she was sure he thought was a disarming grin.

\- Which is .. - she frowned yet felt a blush coming.

\- The desert is a dangerous place. During the day the suns will kill you slowly and after dusk you are a legitimate target for robbery or much worse if slavers find you first, - he dropped his voice to a whisper - I may be able to fight off a group of them, but if there are too many... I might not be able to get everyone out. If you come with us, we will be much safer.. you must know your strength in the Force. 

Obi Wan sensed her tensing up and for the first time since they shared their bond he felt her heavily shielding. Her eyes were darting around the cabin, avoiding his.

\- You want me to leave the ship here?! This is madness Obi-Wan. Your friend told you as much - they saw us land! Who else did? If I lose the ship...I don’t have much time. I cannot risk it.

He crossed his arms on this chest and gave her a once over. With her mop of dark hair, crumpled white shirt tucked carelessly into her trousers and visible bags under her eyes, she looked haunted. It was clear she was on the run from someone or something. But he knew better than to press her now. Still, it both intrigued and disturbed him that their lives had less value to her than this ship and whatever she was concealing on it. He placed his hand onto her shoulder gently, she tensed up immediately but did not recoil. 

\- Whenever something becomes more important to you then another’s life, you have to pause and take a long, hard look at yourself and where you are heading. But I can neither force you to help us nor make you trust me. 

With that he let go of her and walked off into the back of the ship. She could still feel the warmth that his hand left on her skin. She was in a bubble, outside were the noises and chatter, things being wrapped and unwrapped, muffed laugher... while inside, behind invisible walls, she stood alone, suddenly lost and confused. Most of her life she had spent chasing the answers to the questions she thought mattered. What could be more important than to understand the intricate dance of life and death, to see how energy flows and transforms matter? If you could direct that flow even on a minuscule scale, you could create life where there was none, beauty instead of chaos. But what was the point of her work? Did she truly know? Between constantly chasing or being chased, she never stopped to ask why. And now ...

She looked at her grey transport bag, tucked away behind one of the ship’s panels. She knew that the batteries in the cooling bags would run out. Even if she could find the way to charge them here... the delicate collections of cells inside will not survive cryogenic conditions for much longer. This was the work of her life, this one bag and two memory pads with log files that could, for better or worse, change this world and many others like it. Could she risk it all for ... for what? People whom she barely knew. These kids who were born and will die on this barren rock. For a jedi who barged his way into her life, joined their minds and now was making her feel responsible, like she owed it to him somehow ... 

From a distant corner of her mind she heard a familiar voice “it’s just the two of us, Eila, it always will be”, - it hurt her still and she flinched. She must let go of this poison. She would run half the way across the galaxy from it, from him... what she did, from what he made her do, yet there it was. This could not go on. She burst the bubble and reached for that mental link and this strange new comfort she felt every time their minds brushed against one another. “Fine, Kenobi, you win for now”, - she whispered. 

 

The next hour was spent in general commotion. Eventually, Eila found a way to charge the batteries in her cooling bags for another 24 hours using the ship’s power supply. After that she would need much better equipment, which she was sure she would never find anywhere on this dust ball. In the meantime, the desert suns started to dip closer and closer to the horizon, cooling down the desert air. With another hour gone and the port door finally shut they were all gathered outside, ready to start the hike. Eila did not have a good feeling about any of this. But it was too late now. Obi-Wan, changed into his long tunics and his rag of a robe, theatrically rolled up his sleeves and gave her a wink. 

\- Stand aside please! - he addressed the small squadron of spectators, who retreated several paces back. He stretched his arms out palms down - And remember none of this really happened. 

She suddenly heard the hissing noise of sand shifting and then metal groaning. The sand was disappearing from under their ship which began sinking as if into quicksand. She could feel the Force moving all around, flowing from Obi-Wan, surrounding him in an iridescent glow. She could not help being filled with a childish awe, the same she felt coming from the kids flanking her on both sides. The Force was not magic to her like it was to them, but looking at his effortless command of it she could almost believe that it was. When the ship was half submerged, he spread his hands wider and the sand started swirling around, pouring up and over, covering the top half of the ship. When it was all done, where a ship once stood, only a small dune remained. Obi-Wan used his sleeve to mop beads of sweat from his forehand and shot her another smug smile. 

\- How very impressive, please tell me you can unearth it just as well -she scowled back.

\- My dear, you can doubt me all you like. I spent many long and boring days in this desert, and if nothing else, I got pretty good at playing with sand. 

............

The glow of the two setting suns was now soft on the peaks of the scorched dunes ahead, giving them a pinkish glow and the wind was pleasantly warm. It was playfully ruffling the blond curls on the head of the young girl who was holding Eila’s hand as their small procession stretched out in a thin line, following the shielded side of a sand bank. The red walls of the canyon were opening up on both sides into the endless dunes sprawling away into the distance. The two of them were in the very back while Obi-Wan walked some distance ahead looking on into the hazy nothingness. They were making steady progress and were due to reach the meeting spot within an hour. But the girl over-zealously gripping Eila’s hand was scared of the sand people, of never seeing her parents again and of the big worms that lived in the sand. 

\- Listen, you cannot be scared of everything at once. Just choose one thing. I reckon I would go for the big sand worm, - involuntary she eyed up the neighbouring dunes. 

\- It cannot come here! The sand is too shallow.

\- Well that’s a relief. 

\- But the sand people can. They are always roaming the desert. If we meet them, can he do what he did to the slavers? Stab them with a sword of light? I hope he will! I was not at all sorry. You are not afraid of them are you? - she peered up at her hopefully. 

There was no use in telling her she was very apprehensive. For starters, she had no idea who or what sand people where. Her mind, however, conjured only unpleasant images. 

\- No, of course I am not afraid. But you must promise not to talk about the light sword and what you saw. Unless you want him to get into big trouble ... 

The girl looked up with her large brown eyes and nodded fervently.

\- I will never ever! I swear! 

Then suddenly she giggled.

\- But Ben said that he already is in trouble! When you left the the cabin I was hiding behind the big plastic box and I heard him say - she made a long face clearly trying to impersonate Obi-Wan - “Why do I always land right into trouble”. 

She was clearly pleased with her attempt and continued chuckling. Elia hid her own smile.

Obi Wan could now see the outline of the wreck. From this distance it looked just like another slightly misshapen sandy outcrop, but they were close now. Very close. He could sense only simple life forms around. Sand creatures, mostly. Yet somewhere in this desert a pair of eyes was watching them. The creature was conscious enough to generate a distinguishable presence in the Force. He could not sense much else. They just needed to reach the meeting point. Lars could not be far off now. He could not risk an open fight. To use his lightsaber on Tatooine meant losing whatever cover he had. It meant putting Luke and the Larses into immediate danger. He did not want to think what not using it might mean. He did not want to make that choice until he had to. 

Thankfully this unpleasant chain of thought was interrupted by the faint sound of the hovercraft and he immediately felt a familiar presence approaching. Lars was making his way on a large speeder towards the wreck from the opposite side. Now the faint hum was unmistakable against the stillness of the desert and he could see its hazy outline. Obi-Wan sped up and turned around to give the signal for the group to follow. 

It was in that moment that he heard a single rifle shot , echoing through the canyon. His heart skipped a beat and he instinctively reached for Eila in the Force. Then the shouting started. He saw the group behind him breaking up with some running past him towards the wreck. The second group fell behind and formed a circle around Eila, who was standing with a small laser gun that she found on the ship, pointed towards something in front of her. He could not see what it was straight away but he was now sensing multiple sentient beings in close proximity. How could he have missed them? The lone watcher must have had friends that were following them but keeping just out of his sensing range. Focusing on the surrounding dunes he could just make out the outlines of several dozen sand people, well camouflaged in their light brown cloaks, encircling them from a distance. Most of them were armed with gaffi sticks but he also spotted riffles being pointed at the group. They were exchanging commands in high pitched voices and were moving closer. Behind him several kids had already reached and were boarding the speeder. 

When he caught up with the remaining group a cheer erupted, many pairs of eyes looking at him with hope and relief. It made him sick in his heart. Eila was standing motionless with her gun pointed at the closest raider with a riffle. A small girl was clinging to her leg.

\- Let me guess Kenobi, - she hissed - these are the sand people? 

\- Well guessed. They can be very dangerous in large numbers. Do nothing to provoke them!

\- I think they have been sufficiently provoked. One of them tried to shoot me... He missed.

She nodded her head to the left where some distance away a heap of rags lay sprawled on the sand. 

\- I stopped his heart. But there are too many. If they start shooting one of them will hit the mark. 

\- They are after the kids. So they will try to take us out first. You got them a little confused with your trick but they will soon attack again.

\- Lovely. Still got that lightsaber? 

\- Pass me the gun, - he whispered

\- The gun?!! - she shot back angrily, - what are you playing at Kenobi? I only have one! Look, it’s simple. You run at them, I cover you. They, - she nodded towards the rest of the group - run as fast as they can towards the speeder.  
He put his lips right to hear ear.

\- Eila, listen to me, I cannot risk using the lightsaber here. Lives of others are at stake. 

She gave him a side glance that confirmed what he already felt through their link. She was angry and hurt. 

\- So that’s why I am here! To cover up for your secrets. Lives are indeed at stake, Kenobi! Our lives! Do they mean so little to you?! 

Before he could respond another rifle shot was fired. The little girl still clinging to Eila’s leg cried out. Thankfully the shot landed several paces away. The Tuskens were clearly trying to figure out whom they were pitched against. All the while they were moving closer and Obi-Wan could see several of them flanking their group with electro nets, designed to stun and incapacitate but not kill potential slaves. 

\- Hey, everyone, listen up! When I start shooting and Ben here takes his sword out start running as fast as you can to the speeder. They will not shoot you, they want to catch you alive. Scatter around, run fast and do not look back! Do you understand? 

She heard mumbled acknowledgements and with that fired the first shot at the closest raider with the rifle. He fell in a heap while the rest of the Tuskens started howling and several were now running at them. 

-Go!! - she screamed and their group scattered. Obi-Wan focused his attention on the shots being fired at him and Eila, he used the Force to reflect the first two aimed straight at her head. The Tuskens were testing them no longer - each shot was aimed to kill. They were much closer now. The third shot was intended for him, he stepped aside and it hit the sand dune. 

\- Pass me the gun! Use the Force to kill them! They are too far for me to do anything! - he shouted at Eila who in the meantime took out another raider with a rifle. That’s when he noticed that the girl was still clinging ho her leg with her eyes closed and sobbing.

\- Kriff you Kenobi! Take out the rifles, draw them in! 

She tossed him the gun and stretched her hand out towards a raider running at her with what looked like a make-shift metal pike. She focused her mind and felt his pulse throbbing at her fingertips, felt the small heart punting under the ribs ... then she squeezed. The raider collapsed with a scream and blood running out of his round misshapen mouth. Two more were approaching from both sides. 

\- There are more of them coming from the dunes! - Kenobi shouted from behind. 

She focused, trying to drown out the sound of riffles being fired and the child sobbing by her feet. 

Hidden by the bank of the dune one of the raiders balanced a thin tube with a small cross section on this forearm. A needle-thin spike was poking out ominously form the end he was pointing directly at Elia’s throat. He took a deep breath with his round mouth and pressed the end of the tube towards it. 

It felt like an invisible bolt of lightning pierced her just below the collar bone. Eila screamed but kept her footing. The two raiders threatening them with metal pikes lay motionless on the sand. At first she thought the pain she felt was a rifle shot, but she could see no blood and a second later she felt the nauseating seep of poison spreading from the collar bone into her left shoulder and chest. She grabbed and yanked the dart head out of her flesh and focused her remaining strength on trying to keep the infected blood from spreading, pushing it out from the entrance wound. Whatever it was the poison was quick and she felt it affecting her mind already, making her dizzy and weak. She fell to her knees and screamed for help into the bond with Obi-Wan. Without stopping the shooting Obi-Wan crouched by her side and laid a hand on her shoulder. 

\- Tusken poison! - he exclaimed - Eila! Can you hear me?! 

She gripped his hand.

\- I can’t keep the poison out and fight them. I cannot do both! Lightsaber! Now! Scare them! - she begged. 

The next rifle shot wizzed close to his leg. They were now surrounded. He shot back and took out another raider. He must have killed at least a dozen by now and yet more were emerging from the dunes every moment. They kept just out of his force reach. Lars’ speeder was still behind the wreck, keeping a good distance and ready to blast off if the fight got any nearer. It seemed like most of the kids were on board. The choice in front of him, the one he loathed to make, was now inevitable. Luke’s safely or Eila’s life. The little girl still crouched and crying by their side would live, a life of a slave, but she would live. He made his choice and reached for his lightsaber. He would slay them all, burn the bodies and pray no one sees any of this. Suddenly through thier newfound bond he felt a desperate push of rage and disappointment coloured with pain. Behind him Eila stood up. He turned around briefly to see her red-rimmed eyes staring at him blankly. He reached out and felt a wall, she cut him off. He knew she stopped trying to control poison, she was shaking. He tried to grab her but she used the Force to push him away. 

\- Eila stop! No!! 

She pushed the girl towards him.

\- Run and hide! You are good at that! 

Then she raised both of her shaking hands, tears of pain were running down her cheeks. She screamed out and he felt a powerful surge of force erupt from her and in a wave roll towards the hills. More screaming followed, but this time it was coming from the dunes. He looked on, dumbfounded as several raiders had their heads and limbs torn off by the invisible power. Others simply collapsed. He sensed pain, fear and death around him. It was so palpable he had to stop himself from vomiting. But now the tide has turned and the surviving Tuskens were scattering in terror and running back for the canyon. Eila collapsed on the sand. Obi-Wan rushed to her side and put both of his hands on the wound that was oozing foul smelling blood, using his healing powers he was trying to purge the poison. He also tried to reach her through their bond but her presence was weak and fading. He was desperate to push his fear out of his mind and broadcast warmth, comfort and calm he did not truly feel. When her presence faded further he felt tears running down his face.

\- Fight the poison Eila. Fight... I am sorry. I should have acted quicker. Please ... stay with me... 

He could still feel a faint heart beat. He followed their bond deeper and deeper until he felt as if the poison was filling his body too, until he was not sure where one of them ended and the other began. He felt numbness in his limbs, shortness of breath, all of what she must have been feeling. Such healing methods were dangerous he knew well, but he refused to let go. He could now feel her clearly, she was still fighting through the pain, trying to heal dying cells and keep her heart pumping. With care and tenderness he embraced her presence with his own and lent her his strength, diverting his life force into hers. After several moments of uncertainty her heartbeat stabilised and her presence strengthened, becoming much clearer and sharper. He could feel her regaining control and he finally gently pulled away. 

When Obi-Wan opened his eyes, it was to see Lars hovering over him.

\- They ran away Kenobi. Who is she? Is she alive? If she is get her away from here, far away. I saw what she did. 

Obi-Wan couldn’t care less what Lars thought. He felt weak from the loss of life force and his legs nearly gave up on him when he tried to stand up. 

\- Do you have a spare speeder? We need to get back to my hut. She is stable for now but she is fighting poison. I am not sure she will live.

\- It’s better she dies! Are you blind Kenobi? I knew what I saw. She is a monster! It was her, wasn’t it, tore a raider in half? She can do it to you or to me or any of us …

Now Obi-Wan was loosing his usually legendary patience and was considering using mind control on Lars if he could pull it off in this state. 

\- Shut the kriff up Lars! She saved them all! - he pointed at the fully packed speeder and looked him dead in the eye - now give me a speeder and get them back to their families. Explain to them that they cannot talk about anything they saw. Get on with it, I have no more time to listen to your nonsense. 

Lars gave him a disdainful once over but complied. He marched back and tossed an old speeder off the back of his larger cargo one. Then he climbed back up and hit full speed, taking off in a dust cloud. Obi-Wan pulled the small speeder from the ground, turned the ignition and boarded a half-conscious Eila up. 

Before taking her back to his place, however, he had one quick job. The rumour of what this girl did of what she can do cannot spread from surviving Tuskens through Tatooine or else she will be hunted down before she could recover. No mind trick he knew could obliterate a memory that strong. He pulled his lightsaber from under his cloak and clipped it on his belt. He didn’t have much time and the certainty of what he had to do was not shaded by any doubt. This was new, alarming yet strangely liberating. Was this how his padawan had always felt? Anakin’s image, the way he looked when they were fighting side by side during the Clone Wars, came easily to his mind and he did his best to push it out.

..............................

Vader was not expecting Tarkin to be helpful. He just wanted to see if his suspicions were correct. Even back in his padawan days, his instincts had never betrayed him in these matters. Palpatine was trying to exclude him from something... something he did not trust him with. Tarkin was the only person who Vader could think of that had recently received any semblance of trust from his new master. And he was sure whatever was being hidden from him had something to do with his old master. The fact that he had re-connected with Kenobi only to sense his distress was no coincidence....and if Palpatine did see as far into his apprentice’s mind as he sometimes claimed to, he would have every reason to keep him away from Kenobi. 

Being welcomed by Tarkin’s smug grin confirmed his suspicions. The old fox was charming enough. Vader knew him from the time of the Clone Wars and enjoyed immensely the fact that he was not immediately recognised in his metal suit and his mask. Vader told him that he was in this sector on a mission hunting some high profile force-users and watched commander’s face carefully as he asked if he could share his records on everyone detained recently. Tarkin obliged with a shrug, yet he felt how the other unmistakably tensed up at his words. Kenobi was not on the list, nor did he expect him to be. He wasn’t being kept on the ship either, Vader knew he would sense his old master in a heartbeat. Neither has he sensed any other powerful force-users...perhaps they were heavily shielded. And so, after a brief session of formal pleasantries, Tarkin claimed he had a meeting with his staff and Vader was unceremoniously dismissed. Clearly Tarkin was keen to assert his newly gained power.

Vader pulled off his suit and mask, exposing his prosthetics and paled scarred skin. From a neatly folded pile of uniforms, kept in a nearby utility closet, he chose the technician’s suit that covered him almost completely and conveniently included long rubber gloves. Finally, he opened a small and round metal tub with some viscous salve, dabbed a metallic finger into it, collected a single transparent drop and carefully touched the surface of one and then the other eye. The substance spread over the cornea and his amber irises faded in colour to muddy grey. 

He then stared vacantly at his outstretched mechanical fingers, flexing them slowly in nearly perfect motions. This sight depressed him every time. He didn’t really miss not having the full range of sensations in his legs, but his hands ... What would he not give to feel his fingertips touching crude rubbery wires or silky fabrics or soft skin... But he decided not to dwell on this now, he had a perfectly good distraction, one that would hopefully lead him to the very man responsible for his disabilities, both his physical and emotional damage. And when he finds Obi-Wan, well, Vader had a few scenarios he had imagined in intricate details over the last couple of months. All of them were immensely satisfying. 

He sneaked out into the long empty corridor and casually made his way towards the command deck. No one recognised him or stopped to question where he was going. At an imposing metal door blocking the entrance to the deck, he was met with a single guard, built like a brick wall, with two beady eyes, who gave him a once-over before asking what he wanted. 

\- Maintenance, we have spotted several faulty wires. Couldn’t send the droid, too delicate - Vader said leisurely. 

\- Didn’t have any word you were coming.

Vader focused on the small and dull spark of what appeared to be the guards imprint in the Force. 

\- We only just got the report. Let me through. 

The guard shuffled uncomfortably, punched the code into the door lock, mumbled “maintenance on top deck” into his comm and stepped out of the way as the door slid open. Behind it, a rectangular room with control panels framing both sides and a large observation terrace was nearly empty. Two passages led out into right and left enclaves. Several personnel hovering over the holomap of the Outer Rim did not spare him a single glance. 

Tarkin’s private office was in a relatively small cabin in the left enclave. Sensing no one inside he confidently lifted one of the small side panels, closest to the door, fiddled with the electronics beneath and in a second the door opened. Most of the space of inside was occupied with a desk and a huge window panel. Vader was confident the information he needed was somewhere here. The holo-link was as good a place to start searching as any. He fired up the control computer and was immediately prompted to input a security key. Thankfully, he had learnt a trick or two from Ahsoka back in the day and, after a little bit of fiddling, he forced the console to give him the last temporary stored string of input from the keyboard. Several attempts after he was in and the screen lit up with a selection of private messages. He knew right away which one to play. 

The content of Palpatine’s message was cryptic and vague. He listened to several others but there was nothing of interest. It was clear that the chancellor believed that this strange girl he was after was a force-user. And that she stole something of value. But why task Tarkin with a bounty hunter’s job? Most disappointingly, however, there was no logical link whatsoever between this and his old master... and yet his intuition spoke clearly - this was what he was looking for. 

He flicked through the files linked to this message and retrieved the girl’s profile and photo ID. He paused on that for a second. Only one word came to his mind - unremarkable. Now this was interesting, recent suspected location - Arkanis. Could this be why Tarkin pulled a portion of his fleet and his flagship here? Surely not. 

Vader copied the files over, erased the traces of his login and sneaked out from the office. A plan was starting to form in his mind. He would locate the girl and at the very least he would find what Palpatine was trying to hide from him. And if his senses were to be trusted, Kenobi would not be far off when he did.


	7. Things you didn’t do

Finally the day was done. Starlight and three bright moons illuminated the desert; nights were never pitch dark on Tatooine as the thin atmosphere hardly absorbed any light. The heat still rose up from the sand, forming fog close to the ground. But not for long. Obi-Wan knew that soon the sand would be as cold as ice and the winds would rise ... he had to hurry. 

The surviving Raiders were not hard to locate, or to kill for that matter. They hid in one of the caves of the canyon. Thankfully, he did not know their language and the sounds they made as he lit his lightsaber had no meaning to him. It was a quick and merciful death. To let them live after what they had witnessed in the desert was a bigger risk than he was willing to take. As he burned their bodies he felt no remorse or anger. Yet, as he glanced over the smouldering ashes he knew he crossed some invisible line.

Soon after, Obi-Wan stepped over the porch of his dwelling carrying the unconscious girl. She was burning up. Her body was healing itself, but not fast enough. After rummaging around the boxes that held all that was left from his previous life - along with a few more recent additions - he found a sterile syringe and a small vial with the clear antidote. With care he stretched out one of Eila’s arms and gave her the shot. She never stirred even as he moved her onto his bed and covered her with pelts. He brought his lips to her forehead and winced at how hot it felt. He had no choice but to watch over her and hope her body could do the job it had to do.

Inside, his hut still looked like a shed - storage units scattered everywhere, tools, clothes. Day-to-day survival and fighting the ever creeping up depression took all his time and in the few months he had spent here he did not bother making this place a home. 

Warming up his hands over the stove, while waiting for the tea to brew, he cast a critical eye over the room. “A fitting place for the desert rat you have became, Kenobi” - he thought and decided on clearing up whenever he had a chance. Eila’s slight frame was cuddled up in blankets, she looked young and fragile. Yet under the delicate facade lay power. Obi-Wan knew it would be a mistake to forget even for a second what she was capable of, how easily she could kill. What can she become if properly trained? After what he had seen in the last few days he had no doubts left as to Palpatine’s intentions. Was it now his job to prevent this? “I failed with Anakin” - he thought - “ I would just repeat the same mistakes”. Besides he couldn’t keep her on Tatooine for long. Whatever she was hiding was driving her on - one way or another he would have to discover what it was. Needless to say, he did not have a good feeling about it. 

“At least be honest with yourself ” - he mumbled, pouring the tea - “You need her more than she needs you”. In the solitude of the desert, with nothing but regrets to keep him company, he was a shadow of a person. But the last few days spent in her company, joined by this strange new bond, made him feel like his old self again. He needed this. He always needed others to feel fulfilled ... Qui-Gon, Satine and then ... most of all ... Anakin. His attachments and joy they brought, however, always came with a price. He lost them all ... He closed his eyes and felt a headache coming, he must not think of that, it only lead to darkness. Instead, he lowered himself into a meditation pose and tried to clear his mind, watching thin trails of warm vapour rise from his tea cup. Soon enough his tea was cold, his eyes shut and his head hung limply on his chest.  
.......................

His mouth was not his, his lips burned as if bitten and he could taste a metallic hint of blood on his tongue. His hands belonged to someone else. They stretched out in front of him, grabbing onto the metal bars of the bed frame. The body he was inhabiting was not obeying him. Bewildered he lay on his stomach, naked, legs pinned down firmly by someone else’s cold and unyielding weight. He wanted to speak, turn to face whomever was holding him down but only uncontrollable, shameless moans escaped his throat. A shiver ran down Obi-Wan’s spine when rough metallic fingers dug painfully into his hips. His own heart was racing in someone else’s chest. This had to be a dream, he reasoned, yet he couldn’t force himself to wake. Then he felt a gentle brush of soft curls on his shoulder and a warm breath on his neck. A voice he knew all too well whispered “Let go and relax”. The breath left him completely and his body obeyed. 

Various dreams plagued Obi-Wan from time to time. Sometimes he would relive a happy memory, watching Anakin spar with other padawans, walking through the endless passages of the temple or bustling streets of Coruscant. Sometimes, although rarely, he would see his old master again. More often than not a happy dream would take a nasty turn and he would find himself locked in a battle, drowning in the lights of the lasers being shot at him and the iridescent glow of his own lightsaber. There were other, more sinister dreams he cared not to recall... And of course once in a while he would wake up to a mess of crumpled and sticky sheets. He never remembered much, only a meaningless blur of faces... until now. It was as if his unconscious mind was revolting against his conscious self and succumbing to desires he inhibited for years in the waking world. If so he had no strength left to resist. 

His head turned slowly and through half lidded eyes he saw Anakin’s face, so close he could touch his lips with his own if he dared to. To his old scar across his eye, smaller and more recent ones were added. The hairline was also broken by scar tissue in several places. His hair was longer than he remembered and it fell in dark waves onto his shoulders. It was his eyes that drew him in, deep amber with barely noticeable specs of blue. They were looking into Obi-Wan’s very soul. Excitement, fear and desire mixed into one powerful cocktail. It was intoxicating. “But how can this be ...?” - he thought - “I left him, what was left of him, to die ... in such a state ... whatever Palpatine recovered from Mustafar couldn’t be anything like the Anakin I knew. I simply wish him to be like this, still beautiful, still familiar, to placate my own guilt and to enjoy this ... fantasy”. Meanwhile his former padawan was busy planting rough kisses on his neck and tracing small circles with his metallic fingers higher and higher up his spread legs and inner thighs. The response was uncontrollable, stripping away any impulse to resist. Obi-Wan could feel his muscles straining and blood rushing, warming up his core and lower stomach, filling the aching emptiness with heat. Another moan escaped his lips. He seemed to have little choice but to let this dream run its course, knowing that in the morning there will be nothing left but resentment and a pile of messy sheets to wash. 

“What does it matter now? I lied to myself too long. I wanted this. I wanted him.” - he thought, as with every new touch a wave after wave of warmth washed over him, threatening to dissolve completely the few remaining shreds of his former self. Anakin’s mouth moved slowly and teasingly from his throat to his shoulders and back. It was getting pretty uncomfortable to be pinned down so hard against the bed, unable to shift his weight. Then he heard himself gasp as Anakin bit the tender skin of his neck. Reflexively, his hips shot upwards and he was suddenly pressed flush against the maddening heat of his captor. Anakin let out a low contented purr - pushing back, he spread his legs further apart with his mechanical knee. Now more than anything Obi-Wan wanted to face him, touch him, whisper he was sorry for everything that he had done and most of all what he didn’t do. He needed to indulge himself in what his mind had so long denied and his body now demanded. He felt the words spilling out of his mouth in someone else’s voice - “I want to see you, please, let me touch you”. Yet he was kept firmly in place. 

All the while his head was turned sideways and facing the dark corner of the room. Something metallic briefly shone in the shadows, reflecting the lights of the passing traffic outside. His eyes focused on a small egg-shaped droid, torn up and mangled, it was now just a scrap pile of its parts. On its side a logo in bold font read “TerraForm”. This rang a bell, it reminded him of ... Suddenly it dawned on him and the room span. His whole being recoiled. This was not a dream. Somewhere, somehow, this was real. His mind left Tatooine behind and was inhabiting a different body. Pressing him down was not the Anakin of his imagination. This was the creature that survived Mustafar. His mind must have been drawn through the bond they still shared. He had buried it so deep, he wasn’t even sure how this was possible. Yet he could feel Vader glowing like a supernova only a heart beat away. The shock of this realisation echoed through their link and the man on top of him stopped abruptly. Before anything else could happen Obi-Wan closed the walls on him and tore himself away. 

Gasping for air, he came to on the cold clay floor of his hut, covered in a sweat drenched tunic. His heart was racing and his mind was ablaze. Vader felt him, he was sure. “He knows ... stars ... ” he wanted to howl in frustration. Was all of this just to mock him? Show him what he wanted and could never have? A more chilling chain of thoughts took over and his fists clenched, digging nails into the skin of his palms. Was this a trap? Did Palpatine set Vader to hunt them down? It was Eila’s droid he dismembered, they were on her trail. How did they know he was involved? How much did Vader glimpse? Surely not enough to deduce their location... He turned to face the door, half expecting Vader to burst in. Yet nothing stirred, pale morning light shone through the dirty window, catching the dust, making it sparkle. In this silence he could hear only his own heart thumping like a drum. On his bed, having discarded all of the blankets and with them half of her clothes, Eila slept peacefully. Her brow was covered with beads of sweat. Sometime during the night her fever must have broken. Her cheeks and lips were blushing, short and messy dark curls were damp and stuck to her forehead. Obi-Wan stopped himself short of brushing the damp locks off her face and looked away. He had messed up badly. He should have cut the bond with his fallen padawan a long time ago ... his selfish feelings for the man who no longer existed endangered everything ... everyone he cared for. Anger rose and died in his chest, he could not succumb to this, he had to figure out their next move.

He forced himself back into the meditation pose and focused, releasing his frustration into the Force . It was clear that they could not stay on Tatooine long... he would find them ... he would find Luke and deliver Eila to Palpatine. Obi-Wan could see the child snatched away and raised by his father’s side as a weapon of the new empire. Eila would resist and fight, but for how long. He reminded himself he must not act in fear. He needed a plan. First thing, he needed to retrieve the bag Eila hid under the cabin panel of this ship while she thought he was not looking. He needed to know what she was hiding ... Her being a powerful Force user was a reason enough for Palpatine to have her hunted down but he sensed this was only half of the story, he feared what else might be revealed. He doubted she trusted him enough to confide in him voluntarily, but at this point time for building such trust was a luxury they could not afford. 

Second, they must trade in their light cargo transporter for something else unmarked and hyperspace capable. He winced realising that he would have to go through Hutts for that.

Third ... he knew well what he had to do. “Anakin is dead. He is dead ... you mourned him, let him go ...” - he repeated in his head like a mantra. Still his chest swelled with dull ache. His bond with Vader must be cut. 

.................

The dingy room smelt of smoke which seemed to have seeped right into the walls. Thick curtains covering the windows absorbed most of the light and made it impossible to make out much apart from rough outlines of the furniture. Only a large bed that stood in the centre was illuminated by the faint blue light bleeding in through the curtain slits. On the bed Vader lay spread, naked and grinning. The man laying on the other side of the bed face down was also naked but still fast asleep, his neck and shoulders speckled with small bruises. Vader did not know his name, it did not matter. He focused on the memories of last night that still occupied his mind, sending shivers down his spine. He savoured them reliving the fleeting moments again and again. “I’ve got you now. I knew you wanted this all along. It ate at you like a slow poison so you tortured me with indifference” - he mumbled to himself, his hands unconsciously tightening into metal fists. “And now you cannot hide from me.” He did not know at the time their minds were connected. Neither did he think it was possible for it to happen in this way. He had imagined it was Obi-Wan he was pinning down, but he didn’t sense his presence until the last minute. Yet that was enough. He felt his old master succumb and then recoil in fear when their minds became aware of each other. He couldn’t decide which of the two pleased him more. Before the connection was cut off he ripped just one word out of their joint conscious stream, a parting gift. He whispered it into the darkness “Eila”. 

Vader slid off the bed and dressed quickly into the loose dark tunic and trousers left discarded on the floor after last nights adventures. He had all pieces of the puzzle now. They did not make perfect sense but he had enough to make his next move. 

Before leaving he picked up a single piece of paper from the night table. It was crumpled, ripped out long time ago from a notebook and only had two lines of hurried writing on it - a list of strange abbreviations concluding with “return to JL”. The paper was watermarked with the symbol of the Coruscant Academy of Science. He found it wedged between the outer shell and the inner compartment of the TerraForm droid. His ventures through the shady dockside streets of Arkanis were quite fruitful after all. 

He crumpled the folded paper sheet and thought about his old master as he made his way back to his spaceship in the top side of the docks. The moral victory and satisfaction that he had enjoyed earlier this morning were beginning to evaporate. His intuition did not fail - Kenobi and this strange girl were linked. Obi-Wan recognised her droid and he knew her real name. Was he already training a new padawan? Is this why he was hiding her from Palpatine? Was she better? More powerful? Was he attracted to her? He knew a pang of jealousy when he felt it and it annoyed him beyond measure. Jedi or sith, it did not matter. In either capacity it seemed he was doomed to be chasing Kenobi half across the galaxy. 

His ship uncoupled from the docks and initiated the take off, autopilot was set to Coruscant. When he gets there he will have to be careful and avoid Palpatine and his spies at all costs. Thankfully he knew his way around lower levels the city well enough. 

......

In the wake of the new power regime, the metropolis did what any living creature would do. It adjusted and evolved. Nowhere was that more obvious that in the lower levels. At the top, the city’s elite lived as they always did, sheltered and protected by their wealth. Palpatine did nothing to significantly disrupt their comfort, after all he needed their support and the infrastructure they provided to maintain his power, at least to start with. The undercity was of little importance and was left to its own devices after all the support it had previously received from above was stripped. Being more cut off from the top levels than ever also presented an opportunity and the power vacuum was swiftly filled with gangs and organised crime syndicates. Having grown up on Tatooine, Vader knew his way around those fairly well. Credits payed into the right hands, sprinkled with several accurately worded threats and his ship was safely stowed away at an orbital station, he had access to the information he needed and, as a bonus, a shiny new speeder. 

The rest did not take long. He found the man in question sitting in his cosy office at the Academy’s main corpus building, door ajar, with his briefcase placed on the desk in front of him. He was staring vacantly at it and at first seemed to not have noticed Vader standing in the doorway. He looked exactly like his profile shot, except for his hair, which was now mostly grey. Finally, the professor gave him a startled look.

\- Well, - he asked sounding annoyed - I am leaving now. If you have any questions you better ask me quick, or you can wait till I upload the lecture notes, they are rather extensive you know, I am positive you can find your answers there if you try.

\- I doubt that very much, professor. 

That earned him a professionally raised eyebrow. 

\- You see I am here to talk about one of your students. She is no longer in the academy, I believe. She is very bright, one might say ... gifted. I am sure you will remember her. Her name is Eila. 

Professor Janin Levitt’s back stiffened, his hands shot up to grip the sides of his desk and his expression changed from absent to very focused as he eyed Vader up with suspicion. His scarred up face, framed by long curly hair, dark leather jacket and pants, he was trying to decide whether he saw this man somewhere before. His gaze lingered on the matt metal of his wrists and hands folded across the chest. 

\- Ah, I knew you would remember her...

\- And whom might you be? 

\- I am a friend of a man who is hiding her ... from people who wish her dead

The lie - being partially true - came out quickly and naturally and it seemed to have had the desired effect. Levitt didn’t take his sharp gaze off him but something in his expression softened and he suddenly looked much older than a second ago, age lines scoring his forehead and the corners of his mouth.

\- How did you find her?

\- You see me and my friend are both gifted, in the same way that she is. These are not safe times for us. We are being hunted down. Especially those of us that have something to hide. Something important... 

Vader spoke slowly and deliberately trying to read professor’s imprint in the Force. It was faint and illusive. It was important to obtain the information he wanted without excessive violence. He didn’t want any news about this meeting to propagate through the web of spies back to Palpatine.

\- Now, - he continued - In all honesty I don’t care as much about her. But I do care very much about my friend and he is putting himself into a lot of trouble for her sake. I find myself having to protect both of them from very powerful and very dangerous people. Professor, if I am to succeed I need to know exactly want do they want from her? What did she do in the Academy?

He tried his best to maintain a neutral tone and keep the anger and frustration out, even as they were swiftly creeping in.

\- Tell me, is she well? Is she ... hurt?

\- She is well enough for now. 

\- This is good.. this is ... you know I am surprised she decided to seek help from, - he lowered his voice - one of your kind ... she must have had no choice. But I am not sure of what assistance I might be. Her work in the Academy is part of the public record. I don’t know what exactly she did once she left. Truth be told was was not even sure she was alive... 

Vader sensed that this was only a part truth.

\- Well, her wellbeing depends entirely on your educated guess, - he used the Force to press onto professor’s mind and to channel fear - tell me and she might yet live.

The older man’s forehead was beading up with sweat. 

\- Look, I really don’t know what she worked on with Tevian! I was questioned about this many times - he sounded hurt - First by the law enforcement then by your council. I wish I knew, believe me, I wish I stopped her from getting anywhere near him. Him and the whole of his damned crew. When the news about the incident reached me ... I couldn’t do anything. She disappeared. She cut me off. Of course everything they said in the report was a lie. She didn’t do any of it, not her! 

His voice was becoming hoarse, he was half mumbling by now. But Vader knew they were finally getting somewhere and intensified his Force pressure. 

\- .... I can only imagine she must have finally found the way. I told as much to your counsel. Tevian knew she would get there eventually, he wanted to sell the patent to the highest bidder. But what price can one possibly put on such things?

\- What exactly do you mean?

Levitt looked at him as if he was a three year old asking if the moons of Tatooine were made of cheese. 

\- Well, the state of perfect equilibrium of course. One of the holy grails of the modern science. Many of us no longer believe it is possible... it is too unstable. A state of the living system where it becomes possible to tweak its nature slightly, or change it completely ... to infuse it with energy ... bring it to the peak of its evolutionary form. To make it ... well ... perfect. 

“Infuse living organisms with the Force ... if she found a way it’s no wonder Palpatine wants her found” - Vader thought with fascination - out loud he said 

\- And what happens when you use this ... technique ... on people ?

\- Complex systems, well, you can make them develop desired traits not in a hundred generations, but in a single one... But we know so little.. would it work? Now that I think of it ... it feels ironic that she should be the one to do this.. - his voice trailed off, he was mumbling. Vader got what he wanted and had no more time to waste. 

\- Thank you, professor. I think I understand now. Tell no one about this meeting. For your own and for Eila‘s sake. 

Levitt looked pleadingly at him, his defences gone.

\- And you, can you ... to the best of your ability ... keep her safe? I failed at this, stars forgive me. 

Vader nodded and wondered how safe she would feel when they would meet face to face. He turned to leave but Levitt shot up from his desk and grabbed the sleeve of his leather jacket.

\- I don’t expect I should ever see her again in person. I am not sure how long it will be before I leave the Academy for good... - by the pause he made Vader was sure he wasn’t talking about retirement.

\- And she deserves to know. She must. Perhaps she does already... perhaps they told her before the end ... Shortly after she ran away to the Academy from the Temple I was summoned by the council. They had still the power and audacity to do that, back than, - he scoffed - Well, there were only three of them in the whole meeting chamber. It was your grandmaster who explained the situation to me... - Vader’s eyes narrowed. 

\- Eila, - professor continued - she was never born to the family that raised her. She was given to them by the Temple. It was the least they could do, I suppose, to give her a childhood ... The condition was that they would send her back when time came. They did not, they tried to keep her until it was too late, until her ... abilities grew and she was not able to control them - Levitt was becoming agitated, words were pouring out of him as if he couldn’t wait any longer to get them out. 

\- You must tell her that they loved her and they never wanted to give her up. They were forced ... She was born... - he sighed and corrected himself - ... she was created in a laboratory, a product of years of genetic experimentation. One of the few embryos that took the desired characteristics from hundreds of DNA traces. The program was initiated and funded by the previous jedi council, when they grew paranoid that less and less force sensitive children were being discovered and more and more jedi perished in battles. So they took matters into their own hands. Needless to say this was highly unethical. When these things came to light, the senate interfered and the program was shut down, the new council seemed eager to do it. But then there was a matter of the few remaining fully developed embryos. They were matured to term and given to foster-families to be cared for ... 

Vader couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Temple was manufacturing its own future disciples. The process of selection started much earlier than anyone thought. All of them, like clones, created with desired traits. How many of those jedi he knew were created like this ... he was not listening to Levitt anymore. 

\- ... and I failed her. I lied and I could not protect her ... tell her I am sorry, if you see her, for all the things I didn’t do. 

Vader’s attention snapped back and he focused for a moment on professor’s distraught face, then he nodded and disappeared down the hallway. 

...............


End file.
